A Royal Proposal
by brittnw15
Summary: What happens when Artie has to ask his best friend to do something...well odd? Will there be drama, embarassment, laughs, and fights? You bet! ArtieXGuin
1. Prologue: We'll be losers together!

**AN: I know that in the movie Guin was that really stuck up girl who you saw for all about two minutes. But I've decided to ignore her small little scene and write her in a different way. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story! Also, I own NOTHING!**

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><p>He walked into the main office and slumped onto the bench in front of the nurse's office. His uniform was soiled with trash and leftover meatloaf from last week's lunch. It wasn't that he enjoyed being covered in filth, but that other people enjoyed humiliating him. This was the third time this week that the jousting team had thrown him in the trash can. And if you asked him he was getting pretty tired of it. They could at least think of something else to do to him that didn't involve garbage. Oh well, he thought to himself as he let out an exasperated sigh, it's not like things could get worse.<p>

Just then the door to the office flung open as a tall broad shouldered man walked through. From the looks of the man he appeared to be a sailor. At least he smelled as if he was. The aroma of sea salt nearly knocked the boy out. The man walked across the room, towards the secretary's desk, with a smile on his face; although, it was kind of hard to see underneath his unkept beard. Behind him walked in a less than eager…was that a girl? The person was dressed in baggy pants and boots, their long curly brown hair tied up. Ah yes, they had to be a girl for their shirt was form fitting and let's just say that they didn't have a manly figure. As the man talked to the woman at the desk the girl walked over to the bench and sat, crossing her arms over her chest with a fowl expression on her face.

After a few seconds the girl took notice of the boy she was next to. "What happened to you?" she said not really with much interest in her voice. "Got thrown in a dumpster" the boy replied bluntly. She nodded in realization and went back to her scowling, not saying anything else. The two sat there for a few moments before the boy spoke up, trying to start a conversation with her. "So, what you in for?" he asked assuming that she was here to become a new student and half heartedly joking about it. This caused a slight smile to appear on her face.

"Me and my dad travel on a ship but it was damaged on our last voyage. So, while it's being repaired he wants me to go to school."

"I'm guessing that's your dad then" he said referring to the man she had entered the room with.

"Yep. Hey, does that happen to you often? Getting covered with trash I mean"

He chuckled at the question. "Yeah, it does. But that's what happens when you're the school's biggest loser"

This actually won a genuine smile from the girl. "Well I have a feeling that you'll being having some competition for that position. My name's Guinevere by the way but everyone calls me Guin"

"I'm Arthur, but you can call me Artie. And don't worry, I've got you beat in the loser department"

"We'll just have to see about that" she smiled.

The secretary got up from her chair and shook Guin's father's hand. Walking around her desk she made her way to Guin. "It's so nice to have you….here" her voiced faltered after she got a good look at her. She obviously didn't approve of Guin's appearance. But she quickly put on a forced smile as she continued to greet her.

"I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time here. This is one of the best schools in the kingdom. Normally, I would have a uniform on hand to give you but right now we're waiting on a shipment to come in. I'm sure will have it for you by the end of the week. As for right now how about I arrange a tour for you." As if just seeing Artie for the first time she says, "I'm sure Arthur would love to show you around as soon as he's cleaned off" She gave him a stern look as if he had intentionally done this to himself and was just trying to make the school look bad.

"Well I was just planning on sitting here in the office and scare everyone off with my stench but what the heck? I guess I could give a tour" Artie said while getting up off the bench. Guin tried her hardest to suppress a laugh but it didn't go unseen to the secretary.

"That's enough Arthur. Just…go already" she instructed.

Artie did as he was told and walked out of the office with Guin following behind. As soon as they were out of the office Guin started to burst out laughing. "That was nice"

"You liked that then?" Artie said as he peeled off various items of trash and began to throw them away.

"Yeah. You know, I don't think this school things going to suck as bad as I thought. It might actually be interesting"

"Only if you like being shoved in lockers and hoisted up flag poles" he teased.

"Hmm, sounds painful" she said playfully. "Now, where's that tour I was promised?"

"Well, if you'll follow me I show you to our gym where kids are subjected to physical torture"

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><p><strong>I apologize for the shortness but this is just the prologue. The other chapters should be longer.<strong>


	2. Ch1: Hatching a Plan

**As promised this chapter is longer than the first. And please look past the somewhat eventless nature of it. I assure you that this story will getmuch more interesting as it goes on.**

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><p>It was a bright sunny day in Far Far Away, a perfect day as it would seem. But this wasn't the case to Artie. Now 17, Artie had been king for almost a year. However, this wasn't a joyous occasion for him. He had been informed not long after he took that throne that within the year he would have to find wife or renounce his crown. At the time he just dismissed it. He assumed that by the end of the year he would have had a girlfriend who he could propose to. But that wasn't the case. He had been so busy with royal affairs that finding a wife had never occurred to him again. It wasn't until recently that he was reminded of it. So, here he sat utterly confused and frustrated as he stared out the window of his office. He was so consumed with his thoughts that he never even heard the door open.<p>

"Artie, what are you doing? Are you still thinking about this whole getting married mess?" Shrek asked.

Artie turned around, startled, to look at his friend. "Well yeah, how could I not? I mean I'm 17 there's no good reason for me to get married. And even if I wanted to how am I supposed to find someone in less than three months? It's impossible!"

"Oh come on marriage isn't that bad. You only get ripped of your freedom, no longer have any time to yourself, and are constantly being nagged about something" Donkey said.

"Not helping Donkey" Shrek said getting irritated with him

"Eh senor Artie, don't you have a past girlfriend or someone you can ask, you know temporarily? Puss asked.

That's when it hit him. An idea began to form in Artie's head. "Hey guys, how do you feel about taking a road trip?"

"Road trip? I'm all about a trip. Do we get to go in a fancy carriage? Oh, we can sing songs and play games and—"

"That's enough" Shrek said putting his hand over Donkey's mouth. "And where exactly would we be going?"

"How does Worcestershire sound?"

"Worcestershire? Why on Earth would you want to go back there again?" Shrek asked.

Artie smiled to himself. "There's someone there that I think can help"

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><p>Two hours later Artie and everyone were off to his old high school. He really had no desire to go back to that place but he really needed his friend's help. If anyone could help Guin could.<p>

"So, who exactly are we looking for?" Shrek asked as he tried to get comfortable in his seat but with Donkey talking a mile a minute and moving back and forth between the windows of the carriage it was kind of hard.

"A friend of mine. Her name's Guin. She should be able to help; if we can find her"

"What do you mean if?"

"Well the last place I saw her was at Worcestershire. I have no idea if she's still there. She was talking about leaving with her dad. Can't blame her though, neither of us could stand that place."

Artie thought about all the talks they had shared about just leaving one day. But he knew that no matter how much they talked about it they'd never do it. To Artie high school wasn't as bad anymore. Having Guin there made things bearable. He actually had someone to talk to. Of course he still got thrown into dumpsters and bullied but not nearly as often. Guin was almost like his bodyguard. When she was around people wouldn't come near them. Apparently there was some rumor about her that she was from a family of pirates but Artie figure it had more to do with the fact that she could kick all of their butts without even trying.

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><p>It was extremely hot out and Guin's uniform wasn't helping any. The thick itchy fabric was tight against her skin making her feel like she was in a sauna. Not even her favorite book could help keep her mind off of the heat.<p>

"Hey, how ya doin?" Lance said as he came and sat beside her.

Guin just rolled her eyes and ignored him. Ugh, wasn't the blistering heat enough annoyance for one day.

"How about you get your head out of that book and talk to me" Lance said as he put his arm around her shoulders.

Calmly and without looking up from what she was reading she said, "Lance, you have three seconds to remove your arm."

He moved closer to her face and smirked, "Aw, you know you like it"

Putting her book down, Guin turned towards Lance. She smiled and leaned towards him. "You know what?" And in one quick movement she took his arm he had around her and twisted it backwards, flipping him on to the ground. "I don't". Quickly, Lance got up and walked away as if nothing had happen, trying to keep as much of his ego in tack as he could.

"That was a tad violent don't you think?" a voice said behind her.

"What's it to you?" she snapped as she turned around without realizing who she was talking to. Immediately her mood changed as she saw the person who had asked the question. "Artie!" she said throwing her arms around his neck for a hug. He just laughed and hugged her back.

"What are you doing back here?" she asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Weren't you supposed to be leaving?" He was really worried that when they arrived that she would already be gone. But he was relieved to see that she had stayed and still had an attitude about her. It was one of the things that made her different from everyone else. She had a mind of her own. When she pulled away from their hug he realized just how much he had missed her. Sure, he had new friends now but they just weren't the same.

"Well, we can't all suddenly become royalty and get swept away to a palace" she joked, her voice bringing Artie back out of his thoughts. "But yeah" she said getting back to his question, " I was supposed to leave months ago but my father's ship got delayed and it won't be here for another two months"

"So what's this all about? I go almost a year with even talking to you and then you just show up all of a sudden? And who are they?" she asked just noticing everyone.

"Oh, um these are friends of mine; Shrek, Donkey, and Puss." he said introducing them. "And I came to ask you something"

"Nice to meet you" she said smiling at the group. "Now what's this question?" she asked curiously.

Now Artie was getting really nervous. He wasn't sure how she'd react to his question. He kept running worse case scenarios through his head; which included Guin laughing in his face and refusing to help. He felt almost sick to his stomach. It was like Guin said, he had been gone for almost a year. What if while he was gone she'd realized what a loser he was and had no desire to be friends with him anymore? All of these thoughts only made him more nervous, that was until he noticed what was around Guin's neck. She was still looking at him patiently waiting for him to ask his question. Around her next was a thin silver chain, which had tarnished over the years, and on that chain a small red pendant. It was the gift he had given her a couple of years ago for her birthday. He'd never had a real friend before and wasn't sure what to get or if she would even like it. But she apparently had because she never took it off. When he asked her why she simply smiled and said, _"I plan on wearing this until I hate the thought of you so much that I can't stand to look at it…or until it breaks. Whichever comes first."_ So, after seeing the necklace he found the courage to ask his best friend a very strange question.

"Um…well…will you marry me?"

Guin gave him a confused and startled look for a moment before she looked at Shrek. "Did you put him up to this?"

"Hey" he said holding up his hands defensively, "I had nothing to do with it."

"No Guin, just listen for a second before you haul off and hit me for asking" Artie said.

"I wasn't going to hit you" she said putting her hands on her hips. "At least not yet" she half heartedly joked.

He let out a sigh before he started explaining. "I have less than three months to get married. If I don't I have to give up my crown. I came here to ask you to pretend to be my fiancé, which could buy me some time so that you could help me find someone else to marry"

Blankly, Guin just stared back at an obvious terrified Artie who was waiting for an answer. "Oh… well I guess if that's all you need. Then sure why not." She finally answered.

"Really?" Artie said with a realized voice.

"Yeah, provided that I get to leave this dump and go back with you" she said.

"Well, I didn't come all this way just to leave you out here" he said smiling at her.

"Alright, give me ten minutes to change and get my things" she said as she started to walk off to her dorm room.

"You do know you have to wear a dress, right?" Artie called after her, teasing because he knew she hated the idea.

"Yeah yeah, whatever" she said dismissing his words with a wave of her hand.

"I have a feeling that this plan isn't going to end well" Shrek said.

"Oh come on Shrek! Why do you have to be so negative all the time? I mean it doesn't matter what—"

"Donkey?" Shrek interrupted

"Yes, Shrek"

"Shut up, why don'tcha" he said walking back to the carriage.

"This is going to be a long ride back" Puss said exasperated.


	3. Ch2: Getting There

**I just want to thank Mino239 for their comment and HTTYD229 for their fave. It was greatly appreciated. And as always I own nothing.**

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><p>Guin walked outside carrying an old brown messenger bag over her shoulder. Seeing as Artie informed her that she needed to wear a dress, she changed into the only other one she had; which was a pretty old one. It was a dark purple dress that, unlike her uniform, didn't cling to her skin. It flowed all the way to the ground and with this dress she wore a brown belt around her waist.<p>

"Guinevere" a voice called out to her causing her to stop and turn around.

"Crap" she mumbled as she turned back and began to walk faster. That voice belonged to her Head Master, if he caught up with her there was no way she'd be able to leave. But staying here wasn't an option.

"Stop it right there" he called out again.

Guin hesitated for a moment. She knew she could definitely out run him but if her father showed up while she was gone and all they could tell him is that she ran off with some boy she'd be in for it. And she dreaded the thought of what the _it_ could be. So regretfully Guin stopped and let the man catch up.

"You young lady are out of uniform" he reprimanded. "And where do you think you're going?" he asked.

Guin glanced back behind her to look at Artie as she shifted her bag on her shoulder. "Well, I…." her voice drifted off as she searched for some excuse. She stumbled for words but couldn't think of anything. She had just about decided to take her chances with her father and start running; that was until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Artie. Suddenly, and she wasn't too sure why, she felt relieved.

"Something wrong Mr. Silvanus?" Artie asked.

The man's face turned bright red as he realized who he was now standing in front of. He bowed before the young king before he finally spoke; this almost made Artie laugh. He found it extremely funny how differently he was now treated; no longer the small pathetic loser but a king.

"I was simply trying to get this young girl to return to class" he finally answered.

"I can't let you do that. She's leaving with me" Artie told him while crossing his arms defiantly just daring him to argue with him.

"But your Majesty, I just can't –" but Guin didn't let him finish.

"Are you really going to argue with a king?" she asked finding just as much humor in this as Artie did.

The Head Master stood there for a second, debating over what exactly he should say. Deciding that he couldn't defy what the king said, regardless of how much he disapproved, he let them go.

"I saw nothing" he said as he turned to yell at a couple of kids putting graffiti on the school walls.

Guin turned and raised an eyebrow at Artie. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"Oh, you have no idea" he laughed.

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><p>She stared out of the window of the carriage watching trees and other plants as they drove past them. She was lost in thought almost completely oblivious to the others around; which meant she had no idea that Artie was staring at her. He watched her as the breeze from the open window gently blew back her hair. For some unknown reason he couldn't bring himself to look away. Shrek looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out what exactly Artie was staring at. Elbowing Artie in the side, he tried to get his attention.<p>

"Ow" Artie said as he turned to Shrek with a look of confusion. "What the heck was that for?"

"I was just trying to get your attention. Maybe if you weren't staring down certain people I wouldn't have to hit ya"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Artie said defensively.

"Oh really, so if you weren't looking at Guin what were you staring at?" Shrek asked knowing very well what Artie had been doing.

"I was not staring at her. I was…um…looking at…um" Now it was Artie who was at a loss for words. He hadn't meant to stare at Guin. He didn't even know why he did it. But if he admitted to Shrek that he had been then that would probably give the impression that he liked her. It wasn't that Artie didn't like Guin but they were just friends and trying to explain that to someone, especially Shrek, was just too much trouble.

"Well, you see…." Artie tried to explain but Shrek just gave him an unimpressed look. He wasn't going to believe anything he said. But Artie didn't even have time to try and sell Shrek some farfetched story because the carriage came to a sudden stop throwing everyone back against their seats.

"What the…" Guin said, finally snapping out of her thoughts, as she rubbed the back of her head. Wanting to know what was going on; she flung the door open and got out. Before anyone else could follow her move they heard some yell "Get your hands off me!" and then a scream. Concerned glances were passed around the carriage as everyone looked at each other and tried to get out all at once.

Stumbling out behind everyone else, Artie asked "Guin, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's him you should be worried about" she answered with her arms crossed over her chest as she looked down at a large man now lying on the ground.

"Whoa, what happened out here?" Donkey asked seeing the scene.

But before anyone could answer him another man came up behind Donkey. "Hah!" he shouted as he held a knife to his throat. "Now give me all your money or the mule here gets it" The man seemed to be very unstable. His hair and clothes were a mess and he didn't seem very clean.

"Aw, I don't wanna die" Donkey whined. "Hey wait, do I look like a mule? No, I'm a donkey. Say it with me don-key and when was the last time you took a shower?" Donkey said wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Look, why don't you just put the knife down before you make me do something I know you'll regret me doing" Shrek said trying to reason with the wannabe theif.

Guin started to walk forward with her fist balled about to teach this guy a lesson. But Artie grabbed her wrist making her stop.

"Let me handle this" he said giving her a reassuring look but she didn't seem as certain.

"Fine, have at it" she said throwing her hands down.

"Sir, you're going to want to let go of him" Artie told the man holding Donkey.

"I'm not doing anything until someone hands me some money" the criminal said now getting very irritated.

"But you don't understand" Artie said trying to sound very panicked. "He's very sick."

"What? I'm not si—oh, I get it" Then donkey started to cough, intentionally all over the person holding him.

"Eh, what does he have?" the man asked slightly skeptical.

"The plague" Artie simply replied.

"Oh dear God man, are you all crazy?" he shouted, dropping Donkey to the ground. He started to run but stopped when he remembered that he left his friend behind. "Brutus! Get up, come one" he said pulling on his arm and half dragging him away.

"It's official" Guin said as she stood beside Artie.

"What is?" he asked.

"That you're completely full of it" she grinned.

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><p>Many hours later they finally entered Far Far Away. Guin's eyes grew wide with wonder as they entered the city. She had been all over the world but not many places compared to the beauty of this place. They pulled up to the palace to have one of the servants open the door for them. Deciding that they needed to check on their families, Shrek and Donkey left with Puss following.<p>

"I trust your trip went well" said the man standing at the doorway waiting for them. He was an older man of medium height and graying hair.

"Geoffrey, I want you to meet Guinevere. She's my frien- er…I mean fiancé." he said as Guin walked up behind him. "Guin this is Geoffrey, my royal adviser"

Had Geoffrey not had been the gentleman that he was his mouth would have dropped to the floor. He had hoped the best for Arthur but never thought that he would actually return with a girl. Once he gathered his composure he bowed and said, "Nice to meet you Madame" "Now sire, I know you just got back but we have many things that acquire your attention"

"I'll get to it. Right now I'm going to show Guin around" Artie said dismissing Geoffrey's request.

"Sire.." Geoffrey said in a stern voice as if he was his father.

"Go ahead Artie. You can show me when you get done" Guin said noticing the tension between the two.

"Fine, I'll see you later I guess" Artie said reluctantly as he walked off with Geoffrey.

Walking further into the palace, Guin looked around. "What did I get myself into?"


End file.
